In New York City, a man allegedly stabbed a cab driver, because the driver was a Muslim.

Forty-three-year-old Ahmed Sharif, a native of Bangladesh, has been driving a yellow taxi for more than 15 years.

On the evening of Tuesday, August 24, he picked up 21-year-old Michael Enright. During the ride, Enright, who was drunk, asked the driver if he was Muslim. When Sharif answered "yes," Enright allegedly slashed and stabbed him with a knife in the throat, face and arm.

"First the knife he put here," Sharif described. "Then I moved little bit back when I see the knife. Then right here."

"He (Enright) said 'Assalamu Alaikum' and began to stab the driver through the partition," said NYC Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Sharif believes the battle over the proposed Ground Zero mosque has inflamed anti-Muslim sentiment in New York City.

However contrary to that theory is the fact that Enright volunteered with a group who supports construction of the mosque. He has been charged with attempted murder as a hate crime.